Conveyer.



n. F. LEPLEY.

CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 17. I915. 1 183 307 v Patented May 16, 1916. 9 a 3 SHEETS-SHEET I Wifnesses nventon,

Attorneys THE CDLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm; WASHINGTON. D. C.

D. F. LEPLEY.

CONVEYER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 11. 1915.

Acto rn eys 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented EIay16,1916.

Witnesses WZMM.

D. F. LEPLEY.

CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 17. 1915.

Patented May16, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Inventor Witnesses Attorneys,

DANIEL F. LEPLEY, OF CONNELLSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Application filed May 17, 1915. Serial No. 28,664.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL F. LEPLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Connellsville, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Conveyer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to conveyors espe' cially designed for use in loading coke and the like onto cars, and for other purposes, one of the objects of the invention being to provide a conveyer, the material supporting portion of which is made up of rollers of various diameters free to separately ro tate, whereby fine particles are permitted to sift through the conveyer, thus leaving material of a predetermined grade to be discharged froin the delivery end of the conveyer.

A further object is to provide a conveyer the supporting members of Which are constructed in a novel manner and of such design as to permit the use of high grade steel, such as manganese steel; parts that are easily fabricated, are very durable and free from defects likely to cause accidents, there being means combined with said supporting members for imparting a slight agitation thereto, thus to insure the proper separation of the dust or undesirable particles from the balance of the material being conveyed.

A further object is to provide means whereby the waste material thus separated is accumulated and conveyed downwardly by the lower flight of the conveyer, thus preventing an accumulation of this undesirable material within or below the conveying apparatus.

Another object is to provide a conveyer so constructed as to operate smoothly and for a long continued period with little if any attention, means being provided whereby the supports of the flights are kept constantly lubricated.

A further object is to provide an endless conveyer the material supporting elements of which are connected by chains of novel form, these chains being so constructed as to hold the parts of the conveyer constantly in line without danger of lateral displacement.

Another object is to provide an endless conveyer the chains of which have removable wearing portions which can be replaced readily after they have become worn as a which is mounted on the car.

result of their frictional engagement with their supporting sprockets.

A still further object is to provide a conveyer so mounted as to be especially useful as a means for loading cars, inasmuch as the said conveyer can be shifted readily from position above one car to position above another, the movement of the conveyer in this manner operating to trim or smooth off the top of the load carried by the car.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the com bination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a conveyer embodying the present improvements, the same being shown in a position assumed thereby while loading a car, a portion of the conveyer structure being broken away and the position of the car being loaded, being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the elevator or conveyer, parts being broken away and other parts being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of a portion of the conveyer. Fig. a is a section through a portion of the conveyer, said section being taken on the line AB Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged section through a portion of the conveyer, said section being taken 011 the line CD Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the inclined chute supported under the conveyer, a portion of one of the brackets on which it is mounted, being also illustrated. Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of one of the side plates of the conveyer structure.

Referring'to the figures by characters of reference, E designates a car structure provided with suitable means for directing coke from the ovens, one of which has been inclicated generally at F, onto the conveyer which constitutes the present invention and The means used for directing the coke onto the conveyer can be of that type disclosed, for example, in my Patent No. 1,142,895, June 15, 1915, covering certain improvements in coke conveyers.

The conveyer covered by the present application is designed for elevating the coke or other material discharged thereonto to a point where it can be discharged into a car or other receptacle and includes side beams 1 suitably connected at their ends, said beams being supported at a desired inclination. Secured to the bottom of each beam are abutting depending brackets 2 each provided near its upper end, with two transverse openings 3 in which are keyed studs et extending inwardly from the brackets, those portions of the studs projecting from the brackets being provided with a wear sleeve 5 likewise held against rotation by keys 6. Each stud has a head 7 which holds the sleeve against longitudinal displacement and also serves to holdon thesleeve a supporting roller 8. This sup. porting roller is hollow and fits snugly upon the bearing sleeve 5, there being an opening in one side of the roller, as indicated at'9, whereby grease can be directed into the roller and thus supplied continuously to the bearing faces of the roller and sleeve 5. A single supporting roller 10 is similarly mounted upon the lower portion of each bracket 2 and, as the various brackets abut along the bottoms of the beams 1, it will be apparent that the distance between the lower rollers 10 will be twice that between the upper rollers 8. The series of brackets 2 extend close to upper and lower transverse shafts 11 and 12, the upper shaft 11 being journaled in fixed bearings 13, while the lower shaft 12 is preferably mounted in blocks 14 adjustable in guides 15 provided therefor. Sprockets 16 are secured to the end portions of each of the shafts 11 and 12 and engage the endless chains forming the side portions of the conveyer apron. As shown particularly in Fig. 3, the teeth of each sprocket are disposed in pairs, there being recesses 17 between the pairs of teeth and which recesses are wider and deeper than the notch between the teeth of each pair. The conveyer apron includes a plurality of parallel material supporting elements each of which consists of a metal pipe section 18 from the ends of which extend bearing pins 19 preferably made of hard metal, such as manganese steel. These pins are held to the tubular sections 18 by castings 20 in the-ends of the tubular sections. Each pin 19 has an annular shoulder 21 near the casting 20, while the outer end portion of the pin is designed to receive a cotter pin 22 or the like.

The pins 19 extending from alternate sections 18 of the apron constitute the pivotal connections between the links of the chains forming the side portions of the apron. As shown particularly in Fig. 2 the links 23 are arranged in pairs, the links of each pair lapping the links of the adjoining pairs, and all of the links being held properly spaced by wear sleeves 2 1 which are mounted on said pins 19. The pins 19 extending from the remaining sections 18 project through openings formed in the centers of the links 23 and are not provided with spacing sleeves Thus it will be apparent that during the actuation of the apron, the sleeves 2-1 will be received within the notches between the teeth on sprockets 16, while the pins passing through the center of the links 23 will enter the recesses 17 where they will be held out of contact with the sprockets while passing around them. Consequently the wear on the chains will all be received by the sleeves 2a and as these sleeves can be replaced readily it will be apparent that the life of the conveyer will be greatly prolonged. By providing the sleeves 24., the opposed links are not only held apart, but lateral distortion of the chain is prevented and the sections 18 of the apron are thus kept in proper alinement at all times.

It is to be understood that the sections 18 can all be of the same diameter if desired and as shown in Fig. 2 or, if preferred, every other section can be of less diameter than the remaining section, thus to increase the size of the openings between the sections and permit larger particles to escape downwardly between the sections during the elevation of material by the apron.

The upper flights of the chains are supported'by the rollers 8 and it will be obvious that as the chains travel over these rollers, they will sag slightly at their joints as said joints pass over the spaces between the supporting rollers, thus setting up a slight agitation of the material supported by the conveyer, with the result that the smaller particles on the conveyer are thus gradually freed so as to work downwardly through the spaces between the sections 18.

Under ordinary conditions, the lower flight of the conveyer apron would hang downwardly to such an extent below the beams 1 as seriously to interfere with the positioning of the conveyer above a car or other receptacle indicated generally at C in Fig. 1. In order that the upper end of the conveyer can be supported close to the top of the receptacle C, the lower flight of said conveyer has its chains mounted on the rollers 10. This lower flight is likewise caused to travel along the bottom of a pan or chute 25 mounted on brackets 26 extending clownwardly and inwardly from the brackets The said pan or chute is parallel with the beams 1 and is designed to receive the fine particles which are discharged between the sections 18 during the ele ation of material. These particles, when deposited on the pan or chute 25 will be engaged by the downwardly moving flight of the conveyer so that the sections 18 of said flight will drag the fine particles downwardly along the said chute or pan 25 and deliver them from the lower end thereof. Consequently there will. be no accumulation of dust and the like below the conveyor.

For the purpose of preventing lateral displacement of material being elevated, side plates 27 are arranged above the ends of the sections 18 and throughout the length of the upper flight of the conveyer, the upper portions of the said plates being extended outwardly and downwardly from the beams 1 so as to constitute scrapers, as shown at 28 whereby, during the movement of the conveyer over a filled car or the like to position above another car or other receptacle, the load will be smoothed or trimmed. An apron 29 is preferably extended downwardly from each of the plates 27 throughout the length of the upper flight of the conveyer,there being slots 30 within the plates 27 for the reception of bolts 31 used for clamping the aprons 29 against the inner sides of the plates 27. These aprons 29 can be adjusted close to the end portions of the sections 18 so that there will be no leakage of material laterally from the upper flight of the conveyer.

lVhat is claimed is 1. A conveyer including endless chains, connections therebetween, supports for the upper flights of the chains and spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of a chain link, and means for moving the chains over the supports thereby to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement to each link of the chains and to the connections therebetween.

2. A conveyer including endless chains, connections therebetween, revoluble supports for the upper flights of the chains and spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of a chain link, and means for moving the chains over the supports, thereby to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement to each link of the chains and to the connections therebetween.

3. A conveyer including side chains each comprising links arranged in pairs, the links of each pair lapping the links of the adjoining pairs, rollers between the chains and constituting apron sections, pins extending from certain of the rollers through the lap ping portions of the links, means detachably engaging the outer ends of the pins for holding the links upon said pins and pins extending from the remaining rollers and through the centers of the links, and means upon all of the pins for holding the links spaced from the ends of the rollers.

4. A conveyer including side chains each comprising links arranged in pairs, the links of each pair lapping the links of the adjoining pairs, rollers between the chains and constituting apron sections, pins extending from certain of the rollers through the lapping portions of the links, pins extending from the remaining rollers and through the centers of the links, and sprockets having teeth working between the links, there being from said sections and constituting connections between the links of the chains, said supporting rollers being spaced a distance slightly greater than the length of a link to permit sagging of a portion of a link when. passing over the spaces between the supporting rollers, thereby to agitate mate rial supported by the apron sections.

6. The combination with supporting rollers, of an endless conveyor including chains having their upper flights mounted on the rollers, rollers interposed between the chains and constituting apron sections, pins extending from the sections and constituting connections between the links of the chains,

the distance between the supporting rollers 109 being slightly greater than the length of a chain link, and means for actuating the chains, to position a portion of a link successively above the space between every two of the supporting rollers, thereby to intermittently relieve each link of a portion of its support to agitate material carried by the apron sections.

7. A conveyer including endless chains,

rollers interposed therebetween and constituting apron sections, pins extending from the rollers and through the links of the chains, certain of said pins constituting connections between the links, spaced supporttween the rollers being slightly greater than the length of a chain link, and means for moving said chains over the supports to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement to each link and its connections.

8. A conveyer including endless chains, rollers interposed therebetween and carried thereby, revoluble supports for the upper flights of the chains and spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of a chain link, and means for moving the chains over the supports thereby to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement to each link of the chains and to the rollers.

mg means for the chains, the distance be- 110 3 9. A conveyer including endless chains,

spaced rollers interposed therebetween and. constituting apron sections, connections between the rollers and the chains, revoluble supports supporting the upper flights of the chains and spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of a chain link, means for moving the chains upon the supports to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement of each link of the chains and to the rollers carried thereby, and means below the lower flight of the apron for receiving material discharged between the apron sections.

10. A conveyer including spaced endless chains, spaced rollers therebetween and movable therewith, revoluble spaced supports below the upper flights of the chains, said rollers being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of a chain link, means for moving the chains over said rollers to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement to the links of the chains and to the rollers therebetween, a chute below the conveyer for receiving material discharged therethrough, the rollers of the lower flight constituting means for dragging material. downwardly along the chute, and spaced revoluble means for supporting the lower flight of the conveyor, the links of the lower flight being movable between and in contact with the spaced supports of the upper and lower flights.

11. A. conveyer including endless chains, apron sections therebetween and connected thereto, hollow revoluble means for supporting the upper flights of the chains, said means being spaced, means for moving the chains over the supporting rollers to impart an intermittent up and down movement to the chain links and the apron sections, each of said supporting rollers constituting a lubricant container.

12. A conveyer including endless chains, spaced connections therebetween, certain of said connections constituting pivotal connections between the links of the respective chains, revoluble supports for the upper flights of the chains and spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of a chain link, means for moving the chains over the supports thereby to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement to each link of the chains and to the rollers, and spaced revoluble supports for the lower flights of the chains.

13. A conveyer including endless chains, spaced connections therebetween, certain of said connections constituting pivotal connections between the links of the respective chains, revoluble supports for the upper flights of the chains and spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of a chain link, means for moving the chains over the supports thereby to impart a rapid intermittent up and down movement to each link of the chains and to the rollers, spaced revolu-ble supports for the lower flights of the chains, and means below the lower flights of the chains and their connections for receiving material discharged clownwardly between the connections and conveying it longitudinally under the chains.

14. In a' conveyer, the combination with spaced chainsv including lapping links, of apron sections interposed between the chains and each including a relatively hard tubular member, castings fixed within the ends of said member, bearing pins anchored in and extending from the castings and constituting pivotal connections between the links of the chains, and a spacing collar upon each pin and constituting an abutment for a link.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afliXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL F. LEPLEY.

Vitnesses \V. H. Sorsson, GUSTAV E. WAGNER.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner or Patents. Washington, D. G." 

